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Sandburg Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

902^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,044 Wisconsin Elementary Schools

Better than 14% of Wisconsin elementary schools

Summary

Sandburg Elementary is a public elementary school in Madison, Wisconsin, serving 411 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, which is ranked 317 out of 426 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Sandburg Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Wisconsin elementary schools over the past 10 years, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger indicating it is performing significantly below the state average. The school's academic performance, as measured by the Forward Exam, is lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 32.69% of 3rd graders, 35.85% of 4th graders, and 24.07% of 5th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 52.14%, 52.21%, and 51.26%, respectively. Sandburg Elementary also has consistently high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 17.7% to 35.4% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average.

Sandburg Elementary's performance lags significantly behind both the state and local district averages, as well as nearby schools in the region, such as Mendota Elementary, Creekside Elementary, and Meadow View Elementary. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, Lowell Elementary, which is also in the Madison Metropolitan School District, had significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics compared to Sandburg Elementary.

410

Students ?

10.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,782

Per pupil spending ?

57.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4114 Donald Dr
Madison, WI 53704-2899

(608) 204-7940

District: Madison Metropolitan School District

Students who attend Sandburg Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Sherman Middle
High:	East High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

48.5%

White:

18.5%

African American:

14.4%

See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

Compare Sandburg Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 10th percentile in 2015 → 14th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (29% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Science scores 29 pts below the Wisconsin average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school29%

District avg47%

Wisconsin avg54%

902^nd of 1,044

Wisconsin public elementary schools ?

Bottom 14%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

24^th of 29Elementary Schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District

317^th of 426Madison Metropolitan School District among Wisconsin districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	15.7	902 of 1044	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.1	954 of 1061	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.1	903 of 1067	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.2	924 of 1067	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.7	817 of 1050	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.7	848 of 1037	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.9	904 of 1025	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.1	915 of 1071	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	9.3	970 of 1075	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.8	966 of 1076	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	20.0	921 of 1061	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	23.2	900 of 1053	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	9.4	976 of 1045	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	27.5	891 of 1046	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	21.2	923 of 1045	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	20.0	923 of 1030	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	40.6	766 of 1021	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	44.0	491 of 689	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	45.3	490 of 712	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2005	74.4	158 of 632	75.0%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2024	28.7	102 of 137	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	64.0	28 of 138	79.7%	★★★★☆
2022	53.4	42 of 133	68.4%	★★★★☆
2021	22.6	137 of 141	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	46.4	65 of 165	60.6%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	33.2	187 of 255	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.8	195 of 269	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	49.2	106 of 249	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.7	91 of 248	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	45.8	136 of 275	50.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.1	156 of 287	45.6%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	22.6	825 of 1001	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	8.8	914 of 1011	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.0	871 of 1010	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.6	874 of 1017	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	3.2	1003 of 1004	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.2	772 of 1002	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.7	831 of 997	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	27.4	248 of 322	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.5	282 of 331	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.8	202 of 290	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.9	218 of 296	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	70.7	51 of 274	81.4%	★★★★☆
2019	35.4	170 of 266	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.9	207 of 271	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	13.6	809 of 870	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.4	822 of 866	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.8	761 of 871	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.9	781 of 859	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	68.3	193 of 847	77.2%	★★★★☆
2019	22.8	764 of 874	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	808 of 854	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	13.0	884 of 1000	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.8	904 of 1012	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.6	847 of 1011	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.0	872 of 1017	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	49.8	567 of 1003	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	21.3	843 of 1002	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.1	901 of 997	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	17.7	100 of 113	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.3	43 of 76	43.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	23.0	665 of 802	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.5	704 of 790	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.9	619 of 770	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.7	491 of 748	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	19.2	660 of 742	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.6	551 of 721	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	39.7	463 of 718	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.4	627 of 727	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.4	461 of 715	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.7	503 of 704	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	53.7	340 of 718	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	23.2	591 of 686	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

White (2025)36th percentile+22 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)27th percentile+13 vs school

African American (2024)26th percentile+15 vs school

Hispanic (2025)23rd percentile+9 vs school

Female (2025)18th percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2025)17th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)12th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)12th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Wisconsin (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies45%-18 vs state

English Language Arts31%-21 vs state

Mathematics25%-29 vs state

Science22%-29 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Saturday, August 30, 2014

Anyone who visits Sandburg knows it is a great place to learn and grow. The data sets used, which suggest declining proficiency, miss major considerations. First, Sandburg has a Dual Language Immersion program (Spanish / English) growing throughout the building, with more than 50% of the children learning in Spanish for most of each day (the tests reported here are only in English!). The data used here also has been "NAEP-ized" (retroactively re-calibrated to a more rigorous bar) and aligned to the newer, more rigorous Common Core State Standads. Visit the school! Learn about how they show the 2nd highest rate of growth in literacy in Madison (and growth targets are more rigorous for children who are not proficient). Learn how this is also true for African-American children (reducting the "achievement gap"). Learn how they have reduced behavioral referrals by 39%, they've won awards for Character Education, the principal received the Distinguished Service Award, the teachers' work with technology integration informed the District's "Tech Plan," and learn about the $2 million in grants they won (for afterschool programming and to journey to become one of the 'unexpected' schools who thrives despite being highly-mobile, and high-poverty. There is way more to the story than what you have here. Close Quote

Schools Near Sandburg Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Forward Exam English Language Arts (2025)			Forward Exam Mathematics (2025)			Forward Exam Social Studies (2025)	Forward Exam Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2021)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Forward Exam English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 4th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 5th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 3rd Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 4th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 5th Grade	Forward Exam Social Studies 4th Grade	Forward Exam Science 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Sandburg Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4114 Donald Dr	Madison	53704	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-7940	410	40	10.2	57.3%	76 (18.5%)	59 (14.4%)	199 (48.5%)	22 (5.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (12.9%)	15.7	902^nd of 1044 public elementary schools	13.6%		9.1	954^th of 1061 public elementary schools	10.1%	52	32.7	35.9	24.1	37.0	18.2	20.0	45.5	21.8	$15,782	$1,179	$14,604
Hawthorne Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3344 Concord Ave	Madison	53714	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-2500	360	35	10.2	66.7%	65 (18.1%)	90 (25.0%)	117 (32.5%)	38 (10.6%)	8 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (11.7%)	15.3	904^th of 1044 public elementary schools	13.4%		17.2	907^th of 1061 public elementary schools	14.5%	3	33.3	26.1	32.1	24.5	32.6	22.6	43.5	19.6	$17,322	$1,168	$16,154
Lake View Elementary	Public	K-5	1802 Tennyson Ln	Madison	53704	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-4040	292	33	8.9	73.6%	26 (8.9%)	53 (18.2%)	81 (27.7%)	103 (35.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (9.6%)	23	853^rd of 1044 public elementary schools	18.3%		16.2	913^th of 1061 public elementary schools	13.9%	60	31.1	50.0	19.6	21.7	34.0	27.7	60.0	26.0	$18,068	$1,210	$16,859
Gompers Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1502 Wyoming Way	Madison	53704	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-4520	217	24	9.0	49.3%	103 (47.5%)	43 (19.8%)	37 (17.1%)	7 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (12.4%)	43.4	675^th of 1044 public elementary schools	35.3%		31.1	804^th of 1061 public elementary schools	24.2%	129	50.0	66.7	35.9	46.4	50.0	23.7	66.7	50.0	$15,566	$973	$14,594
Kennedy Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	221 Meadowlark Dr	Madison	53714	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-3420	582	53	10.9	61.5%	174 (29.9%)	238 (40.9%)	62 (10.7%)	41 (7.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (11.3%)	13.3	920^th of 1044 public elementary schools	11.9%		13.8	927^th of 1061 public elementary schools	12.6%	7	30.1	22.0	26.2	38.4	18.3	21.5	41.5	22.0	$13,952	$444	$13,509
Schenk Elementary	Public	K-5	230 Schenk St	Madison	53714	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-1500	394	42	9.4	58.1%	116 (29.4%)	79 (20.1%)	138 (35.0%)	20 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (10.4%)	19.6	876^th of 1044 public elementary schools	16.1%		13.5	929^th of 1061 public elementary schools	12.4%	53	28.2	34.6	24.6	30.1	30.9	17.7	55.4	41.1	$16,915	$1,377	$15,539
Emerson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2421 E Johnson St	Madison	53704	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-2000	297	30	9.9	54.2%	128 (43.1%)	80 (26.9%)	44 (14.8%)	7 (2.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (11.4%)	41.2	712^th of 1044 public elementary schools	31.8%		45.7	671^st of 1061 public elementary schools	36.8%	41	46.7	50.0	48.1	41.3	48.4	36.5	64.5	48.4	$16,002	$886	$15,116
Lowell Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	401 Maple Ave	Madison	53704	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 204-6600	329	28	11.7	44.7%	168 (51.1%)	84 (25.5%)	38 (11.6%)	7 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (9.4%)	59.6	467^th of 1044 public elementary schools	55.3%		53.3	589^th of 1061 public elementary schools	44.5%	122	55.4	64.3	52.2	62.5	57.1	37.0	66.7	64.3	$14,452	$402	$14,051
Mendota Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4002 School Rd	Madison	53704	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-7840	282	29	9.5	72.7%	46 (16.3%)	139 (49.3%)	40 (14.2%)	10 (3.5%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (15.6%)	21.3	866^th of 1044 public elementary schools	17.0%		28.9	821^st of 1061 public elementary schools	22.6%	45	14.3	37.0	30.0	19.1	38.5	37.9	53.9	44.4	$15,399	$1,285	$14,115
Creekside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1251 O'Keeffe Ave	Sun Prairie	53590	Dane County	Sun Prairie Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 834-7700	394	36	10.8	43.9%	167 (42.4%)	105 (26.6%)	48 (12.2%)	26 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (12.2%)	34.7	773^rd of 1044 public elementary schools	26.0%		42.6	701^st of 1061 public elementary schools	33.9%	72	49.0	43.4	45.2	47.1	35.9	37.1	49.1	39.6	$15,162	$717	$14,445

Frequently Asked Questions about Sandburg Elementary

What schools do graduates of Sandburg Elementary attend?

Students who attend Sandburg Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Sherman Middle
High : East High

Is Sandburg Elementary a good school?

Sandburg Elementary ranks in the bottom 13.6% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Sandburg Elementary?

Students at Sandburg Elementary are 49% Hispanic, 19% White, 14% African American, 13% Two or more races, 5% Asian.

How many students attend Sandburg Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 410 students attended Sandburg Elementary.

What district is Sandburg Elementary in?

Madison Metropolitan School District

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.